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Thursday, June 07, 2007

To Report Or Not To Report

In the first issue of the 1983 limited series "The Falcon," written by Christopher Priest, a young woman is almost raped in an alley. The Falcon breaks it up. The girl wants to report the attempted rape, but The Falcon explains to her and her father that if they turn the perp into the police, he will not get rehabilitated; that the perp is really an okay person with problems. So when the perp is a court, the girl walks up to the judge and calls off the charges; when she does this her eyes are downcast and she looks sad. The Falcon is happy. Now his friend can be rehabilitated.

My questions are,

Should the Falcon have asked the girl to not press charges?

What about her trauma over almost being raped?

The perp was drinking at the time he almost raped her. Does that excuse him in any way?

What is worth more, the chance that the perp can be rehabilitated or the girl's mental anguish?

21 comments:

  1. There are limits to friendship. I think the Falcon was completely irresponsible in this instance. Your friend tries to rape a woman, you report his ass. End of story. There's no possible excuse for rape, ever.

    Being drunk does not excuse poor behavior. You are always responsible for your actions. You're responsible for drinking to the point that you act a fool. You're responsible for acting a fool. Unless you're being mind controlled, you're responsible for your actions. And you must live up to the consequences.

    Well, unless you're Paris Hilton. Then you get a get-out-of-jail free card!

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  2. There are limits to friendship. I think the Falcon was completely irresponsible in this instance. Your friend tries to rape a woman, you report his ass. End of story. There's no possible excuse for rape, ever.

    I agree with everything you are saying - however - let me offer this food for thought:

    The book was written almost 25 years ago, where our criminal justice system was very different. Many prisons didn't offer the same sorts of rehabilitation programs they do now for sexual offenders.

    Isn't is possible that prison would have made the problem worse? If left untreated - would this predator become something far worse?

    If I remember correctly, the 'popular' judical attitude on rape at the time was 'she had it coming by dressing so sexy.' Or - 'it's her word vs. mine' sort of closed-mindedness.

    I'm not excusing the book, which I certainly think is a product of its time - but I think 2007 Falcon would certainly behave differently than 1983 Falcon.

    In the early 80s Rape Crisis Centers did start opening up around the country - and Falcon *should* have directed the woman for treatment - and provided her with some assistance.

    And still here's more about Rape Reporting from the 1980s:
    http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1988.tb01436.x

    Would Falcon have made the problem worse by turning the guy in?

    Probably.

    Should he have done more to protect the woman?

    Absolutely.

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  3. It's a big leap from 'Isn't it possible that prison would have made the problem worse?' to 'Would Falcon have made the problem worse by turning the guy in? Probably.' and you haven't supported that leap.

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  4. It's a big leap from 'Isn't it possible that prison would have made the problem worse?' to 'Would Falcon have made the problem worse by turning the guy in? Probably.' and you haven't supported that leap.

    It's a big leap - and you haven't supported that leap.

    I'm still looking for my supporting data, truthfully - about sexual rehabilition programs in 1980s Harlem/New York. Trying to see what sorts of places Falcon would have taken the assailant.

    (Google has 1,010,000 links for 'sexual rehabilitation programs in the 1980s New York')

    There is this article on:
    "Recidivism Rates of Sexual Offenders up to 7 Years Later"
    http://cjr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/30/2/155
    (But it doesn't cover the era I'm looking for)

    But, I don't think it's nearly as important a point as 'Falcon should have done more.' ---

    Falcon Should Have Done More.

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  5. "Falcon Should Have Done More."

    I just imagined this as a t-shirt offered along with the V Hive's "Cap Was Right" tees. I think I need both.

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  6. Actually I think that story is just horrible. Who cares if the prison isn't properly rehabilitative? The guy raped somebody!

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  7. The guy raped somebody!

    Attempted to rape. NY State Law draws a distiction.

    For more information see:
    http://www.nycagainstrape.org

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  8. "I just imagined this as a t-shirt offered along with the V Hive's "Cap Was Right" tees. I think I need both."

    Somebody call Graphitti Designs.

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  9. More on NY STATE LAW:

    DEFINITIONS UNDER NEW YORK STATE PENAL LAW (summary)

    Sexual Misconduct

    Under New York State Penal law, sexual misconduct is defined as engaging in sexual intercourse with a female without their consent, or engaging in deviate sexual conduct with a person without the latter's consent. Sexual misconduct is classified as a Class A misdemeanor and definite sentence of imprisonment up to one (1) year.

    Sexual Abuse

    Under New York State Penal law, if a person is forced to engage in any form of sexual contact without consenting, it is considered sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is classified as a Class A misdemeanor -- Class D felony depending on the severity of offense and particular circumstances, and can carry a maximum sentence of 15years' imprisonment.

    Rape

    Under New York State Penal law, if a person engages in nonconsensual intercourse due to physical force (forcible compulsion), due to coercion or threat--actual or implied, engages in sexual nonconsensual intercourse with another person who is less than 17 years old, or engages in sexual intercourse with another person who incapable of giving informed consent due to physical, emotional, or psychological disability or impairment the act is considered rape. Rape is classified as a felony offense, Class B-D, depending on the severity of the offense and can carry a maximum sentence of 25 years.

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  10. The bizarre thing is how divergent this story is from the standard superhero approach to crime fighting. You don't have Batman or anyone letting muggers go on account of inadequate prison rehabilitation programs. Unless Falcon had some hard data proving that armed robbery is less "curable" than sexual violence, the message more than borders on dreadful.

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  11. Unless Falcon had some hard data proving that armed robbery is less "curable" than sexual violence, the message more than borders on dreadful.

    It's possible - that as a Social Worker, Falcon (aka Sam Wilson) does/did have that hard proof.

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  12. I'm personally appalled by the story as described. Criminal attempts rape, superhero stops rate, superhero worries about the perp more than the victim? Say what?

    Was Priest trying to say something about racism in the justice system that's omitted from the summary? Is the guy black and the girl white? Under such circumstances fair treatment under the American justice system is harder for me to imagine.

    Even so, my reaction is still that the Falcon's behavior is atrocious. If he wants to see this guy rehabilitated, then he should be working to reform the prison system rather than helping would-be rapists beat the charges against them. The Falcon may have stopped the rape, but it sure sounds like he failed the girl nonetheless. He's picking the wellbeing of the girl's attacker over her wellbeing.

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  13. What hasn't been mentioned yet is that this is the comic that was packaged with the MARVEL LEGENDS FALCON action figure - available in toystores everwhere ---

    Get yours while suppliies last!

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  14. Your description of the story written by Priest is disturbing. I'd learned in the past few years that he seems to hold onto some ultra-liberal leanings, and that in recent series of "Capt. America and the Falcon", he wrote a bizarre story involving some kind of madman clone of Cap who supports the war on terrorism. Regardless of that, his story in the 1983 miniseries sounds like it's quite sloppy. If I were the Falcon, I would've slammed the door on any further friendship with a ratbag like that, and helped the victim see to it that the creep got punished to the full limit of the law.

    There are a few more questions about this that I'll probably add here later.

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  15. Not having read the story, and in addition, probably drawing the ire of your readers, I think that if the action was true to the characters, then it was legitimate. Understand that this is a piece of fiction first, and that if Sam Wilson was good enough friends with someone, he might defend that person, even if they were in the wrong.

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  16. I think I see where Priest was coming from in terms of making the point that the attempted rapist was, in essence, a troubled young person that could be rehabilitated. I have to consider many things here: when the book was written (early 80s), possible storylines for the rest of the mini-series (which I have not read), etc.

    But I think he wrote this story not really concerned about the woman's point of view at all. She seemed more like a prop than a real person. The Falcon might be a social worker, but I see no social work being done with this young woman. And there are no other major female characters in this issue as a counterpoint. It is a man's world.

    I just thought it was funny that I read this issue and came away with a completely different set of impressions than what was intended. The intent was not to really give the girl in this story much thought, but in the end she was the most striking thing about the book for me.

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  17. Traditionally in this situation, the hero would either deliver a crippling beating (Batman) or a bullet in the back of the head (Punisher). In this comic, Priest was trying to establish Falc as a hero that would try a third, less kneejerk violent, resort.

    As a social worker, Sam knew the attacker, but also knew he was drinking and running with the bad crowd. He also knew he could try to save him know, or let him sink without a trace in prison. From Priest and Falcon's viewpoint, the boy is more at risk: the girl was threatened, yes, but not raped or hurt. (We'll leave aside the trauma of that for now.)

    David the G's right about this comic coming with Falcon's Marvel Legend's figure.

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  19. Traditionally in this situation, the hero would either deliver a crippling beating (Batman) or a bullet in the back of the head (Punisher). In this comic, Priest was trying to establish Falc as a hero that would try a third, less kneejerk violent, resort.

    That leads me to question the need to make the crime an attempted rape. If the sexual assault and the victim are incidental to the tale, couldn't the same story have been told about a failed pursesnatching or an almost robbery?

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  20. As a social worker, Sam knew the attacker, but also knew he was drinking and running with the bad crowd. He also knew he could try to save him know, or let him sink without a trace in prison. From Priest and Falcon's viewpoint, the boy is more at risk: the girl was threatened, yes, but not raped or hurt. (We'll leave aside the trauma of that for now.)

    My question exactly. Why not make this a shoplifting offense or an attempted assault? Why rape?

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  21. Because neither of them are as serious as attempted rape?

    There are several trains of logic and moral standpoints I see by which the Falcon made the right choice.

    If his goal is to prevent rape, and he believed that (a) the would-be rapist would not do it again (I can see a number of reasons why he might - from wishful thinking to the perp now knowing the book could really be thrown at him) and (b) if he went to prison he would be raped in prison, then in order to prevent rape he would not want the man to do time in gaol.

    If his goal was to save people, he has first saved the potential victim, and is now trying to save the perp. Justice is not the same thing as mercy.

    I do not believe that the Falcon should have asked the girl not to press charges - but can see a number of entirely moral reasons that he could have done so. Also, the fact that the Falcon is a social worker - and therefore experienced at turning people round is an additional point in his favour.

    Her trauma would not be erased and her anguish would not be more than slightly mitigated if he went to prison.

    Prison serves three functions - retribution, deterrent, and rehabilitation. If you don't believe in the first - and you don't believe that another black man going to prison in the 1980s will help the second much, and you believe that rehabilitation will be hindered by prison then there is only one reason to send someone to prison. And that is to remove them from the streets so they don't do it again (a subcategory of deterrent) - which if The Falcon believed in the perp was unnecessary.

    Drinking should IMO be an aggravating circumstance rather than an excuse. You know you are drinking and therefore should take more responsibility for your actions.

    And as for trauma and anguish, it depends how much it would be reduced if he went to prison - probably not a lot. Without more information I am unable to make the judgement - but know of very few cases where punishment really lesses anguish (meaning that the relevant anguish to the court case is the anguish directly caused by the Falcon in asking for her to let him off).

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